NORRISTOWN>> It’s easy to predict that the third time will be a charm for Progressive Housing Ventures LLC, with the renowned purveyor of innovative urban living having worked its magic twice before in Norristown.

On the heels of Arbor Heights and Arbor Mews, the company’s vision of 34 “stacked” town homes, collectively known as Arbor Knoll, will soon be under construction at 1529 DeKalb St., a site that many may remember as the former home of Ersine Tennis Club, now in the last stages of demolition.

A model home will likely be ready to entice potential homeowners with its easy-living design next spring, noted Sarah Peck, founder and CEO of Malvern-based Progressive Housing Ventures.

“Arbor Knoll is the sequel to Arbor Heights and Arbor Mews. These homes will have garages, and some of them will have two-car garages and they’ll be a little bigger, with a little more parking,” Peck explained, adding that the average price is anticipated to be $175,000, with a range from the low $160s to the upper $190s.

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Targeting first-time home buyers with special financing options, the town homes will also offer a single-level model created to appeal to seniors, who, in some cases, may qualify for first-time home buyer incentives, Peck allowed.

“There are quite a few seniors in Norristown who’ve been renting all their lives and now they want to own,” said Peck, who estimated the entire project would be completed in the spring of 2019. “You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to take advantage of the pricing that we have, but the special financing is mostly available to first-time home buyers. Between the attractive pricing and below market financing, this will attract first-time home buyers.”

Peck’s initial foray into Norristown, the award-winning and fully occupied 12-unit Arbor Heights town house community at the corner of DeKalb and Elm streets, is credited with reviving an aging neighborhood with new construction while sparking renovation projects all around it when it debuted in 2012.

Developed by Peck’s firm and designed by Barton Partners, the dozen town homes were nestled in a pair of buildings that had been vacant or dilapidated structures, aesthetically blending into the surrounding Victorian sensibility.

Creative financing helped home buyers take advantage of more than $1 million in public grant funds and reduced mortgage requirements.

“I particularly like the traditional designs of Arbor Heights, which will fit seamlessly into the neighborhood and will age well even when fashions change,” noted Doug Seiler, president, Seiler + Drury Architecture and founding president, Norristown Arts Council Board, on Progressive Housing Ventures website, www.progressivehsg.com. “As a member of the Historical Architectural Review Board, I’ve seen an uptick in applications of people who want to improve their properties in the vicinity. Arbor Heights is already having a positive impact on the neighborhood.”

Three years after Arbor Heights made its grand entrance, the 24-unit sister project, Arbor Mews, arrived at 1202 DeKalb St. with garages, lofty ceilings, oversized windows, and energy-efficient construction, seamlessly slipping into Norristown’s historic environs.

Like its predecessor, Progressive Housing Venture’s second investment in the town’s residential allure was an immediate hit.

“A lot people said we couldn’t get market-rate housing development in Norristown, and now Sarah Peck has done two very successful projects, Arbor Mews and Arbor Heights,” said Norristown Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones. “Both sold out at market rate, and now she’s starting on her third (project.) We’ve been partners with Sarah from the beginning on first-time home buyer incentives. I have no reason to believe that this third, $7.4 million project will not be as successful.”

As many are banking on the urban living trends that are taking hold elsewhere in helping to restore a long dormant DeKalb Street to its 1950s commercial glory, Peck has proved that one of Norristown’s main arteries is primed for a comeback.

“What we demonstrated,” Peck added, “is that there is definitely a market for primarily first-time home buyers who want to purchase their first home and grow some roots in Norristown. Norristown has a lot of attributes that first-time home buyers appreciate, and this gives them a chance to realize their dream of home ownership.”

To add your name to the primary mailing list for Arbor Knoll visit www.arbormews.com.